In the eight months since Ohio State played its last game, in the Gator Bowl, more than a few fans and observers licked their lips in anticipation of what Urban Meyer’s new offense would bring to the Buckeyes. One quarter of actual play left them still wondering.

OSU first quarter under Meyer was 15 minutes of out-of-sync football, a disjointed effort that left the Ohio Stadium crowd in mostly head-shaking silence. The Buckeyes had four possessions but only two first downs and 48 total yards, including 5 through the air. Braxton Miller completed 1 of 7 passes, though he did run for 35 yards and both of OSU’s first downs.

Miami had no such stumbles with its pass-first offense, as Zac Dysert completed 13 of 23 passes for 165 yards and led the RedHawks to 172 yards and five first downs.

The Buckeyes were actually lucky to trail only 3-0 after a quarter. Miami drove into field-goal range on its second possession, but freshman Kaleb Patterson pushed a 24-yard attempt wide right. Patterson made a 22-yarder to finish Miami’s next drive, but only after Nick Harwell dropped a sure touchdown catch on third-and-goal from the 4.

Halftime score: Ohio State 21, Miami 3

Analysis: Oh, that offense

Whether it was a physical or psychological change, the second quarter welcomed a brand new brand of Buckeye. Ohio State had four possessions in the quarter and scored touchdowns on three of them, drives covering four, five and seven plays. The fourth drive ended when Carlos Hyde was stopped inches short of the goal line on the final play of the half. For the quarter, OSU had 297 yards to 38 for the RedHawks. In other words, order was restored.

Miller was the catalyst on all four drives, but it was an innocent-enough 16-yard run by Hyde on the Buckeyes’ first play of the quarter that kick-started the offense. One play later, Miller hit Corey “Philly” Brown for 38 yards, then threw to the end zone for Devin Smith, who made a highlight-reel catch with his right hand.

Miami went three-and-out, and the Buckeyes went seven plays for six, Miller’s passes of 13 yards to Brown and 20 yards to Jake Stoneburner setting up a simple pitch-and-catch TD of 5 yards from Miller to Brown. The Buckeyes stuck mostly to the ground on their next drive, Miller rushing for 49 yards and Hyde bruising over the final 4 for the third touchdown of the quarter.

OSU might have added a fourth in the final minutes, driving 79 yards in 11 plays to reach the Miami 1-yard line on Miller’s 44-yard pass to Evan Spencer with three seconds left. After a timeout, Meyer eschewed a field-goal try and instead sent Hyde into the line, but he was stopped short by Justin Bowers.

Third-quarter score: Ohio State 35, Miami 10

Analysis: Quick knockout

Whatever doubt about whether the Buckeyes would win in Meyer’s debut game at Ohio State was erased in the first three minutes of the second half. OSU received the opening kickoff and, on first down from the 35, Miller headed left on an option play. He stiff-armed one Miami defender to gain running room down the left sideline, then high-stepped past another at the 30 to create the lane to the end zone for a 28-3 lead.

The Buckeyes forced a punt on the RedHawks’ next possession and made it 35-3 with a special-teams score. It wasn’t a blocked punt, however, but a gift touchdown when David Zulandt’s snap sailed over Zac Murphy’s head and Bradley Roby came up with the ball after a long tug-of-war in the pile.

The RedHawks answered with their first touchdown, coming on a third-down pass from Dysert to Harwell, and the teams exchanged possessions for the rest of the quarter. The Buckeyes drove into the red zone once but a bad snap forced them back.

Final score: Ohio State 56, Miami 10

Analysis: New to view

The game long ago in hand, Ohio State mainly used the fourth quarter to gauge how the new blood – as well as veterans in new roles – performed in game conditions. The youngsters included tight end Nick Vannett (two catches) and running back Bri’onte Dunn (seven carries for 31 yards) and the older set included QB Kenny Guiton, running back Rod Smith and receiver Verlon Reed, returning from a knee injury.

The Buckeyes scored touchdowns on all three possessions of the quarter, giving them seven TDs on their final 11 possessions. Hyde had the first score, one play after Travis Howard’s second interception and Zach Boren scored his first rushing touchdown as a Buckeye at the 9:33 mark to cap an eight-play drive. Dunn punched in the final score in the last minute.